Milk & Honey
Reviewer: Sally Spork
from Santa Barbara, CA
Here's my review for Milk and Honey
Atmosphere: Fun, loungey casual atmosphere. Flat screen plays old Felix the Cat cartoons. Outdoor patio has seating and a small wall fireplace. My companion wished there were more people passing by (as he has ADD and gets bored easily.)
Service: Greeted and seated promptly. We were there early on a weekday night.
Food: We ordered one (virgin) mojito which was delicious. As for the appetizers we ordered chicken flauta was good but the chicken was cold, cheese unmelted. Date with a pig was sickly sweet, and couldn't taste the pig (bacon). Everything is better with bacon but this lacked the bacon-umph. Also brussel sprouts: not cooked enough and a little dry. We are forced to rate both the food and drinks together: for which we gave 2 stars.
Summary: Would we return? For drinks yes, if we were very parched and in the neighborhood.

Sadly smelly
Reviewer: Kristin
from Santa Barbara, CA
Been here a couple times for drinks over the past few months and each time it has had an odd smell. The waitress identified a cheese they use as one source (and probably likely) but it was really a garbage smell. The last time we were there for an after dinner drink so it was late and perhaps they were cleaning early but it smelled strongly of a cleaning agent. Loved the vintage cartoons, variety of interesting drinks, presentation, atmosphere, etc but the smells have over powered us for a negative experience.

Our absolute FAVORITE Santa Barbara restaurant!
Reviewer: Whitney
from Santa Barbara, CA
This is our favorite Santa Barbara restaurant for both brunch and late-night tapas. Brunch on Sundays is the BEST! We always used to go to Sambos or Esau's, but now Milk & Honey is our go-to. The chilaquiles are soooooo goood. This place is not for you if you want bland, unoffensive food. The food has flavor and lots of it! Many amazing spicy dishes! And great cocktails!
This place also seems to cater to locals and it's regulars. It's one of those niche spots that only a select group of people know about.

great place! not so great mangement....
Reviewer: Katie Bee
from Santa Barbara, CA
The food was yummy and very satisfying! I loved the amtosphere and the location. The owners really need to make a change to the mangager there in the evening, she was quite rude and very b****chy,not just us, the customers but to some of her co-workers as well! Such a wonderful place to be brought down by such a waste of manager!!!

Milk & Honey? Not so sweet...
Reviewer: Aubrey Catanese
from Santa Barbara, CA
I have been here with a small group of friends on three different occasions and every time our servers have been quite rude to us. It takes far too long for drink orders to be taken and once they are at least another 10 minutes pass until the drinks make it to the table. Also, don't count on the waitress returning to the table when your drink is empty to offer another, as it usually takes about 20 minutes for that to happen. It truly astounds me that each time I have come here for a drink each female server has treated our group as if it is a hassle to serve us. I am a server in a restaurant in Santa Barbara and therefore always tip at least 20% when going out, however this would be one place that I would choose not to do so. Sadly, that option was taken away from me at Milk & Honey because they automatically include a 20% gratuity. The drinks are good but being treated horribly by the servers make the expensive prices entirely not worth it. Won't be returning here any time soon.

Fantastic!!
Reviewer: John Sharpe
from Moraga, Ca
The sauces were great, and food cooked to perfection. Service was good. We had just been watching Chopped on the Food Channel and wanted something that we could lick our chops at. Milk and Honey is the spot.

Love this Place!!
Reviewer: Meeshell
from Santa Barbara, CA
We have been here now 4 times so far since my birthday this past June 8th and LOVE it!! We first went to their sister restaurant in the Mesa, but this one has much better food and service and drinks- get the Coconut or Passion fruit Mojitos for sure! The male server we had tonight was AMAZING too! Being a chef myself, I am picky too... It is a fun place for a date, a large party, or a double date. It's not really a kid place at all. Yum! I am stuffed and can't wait to come back soon ;o)

Slipping away....diners beware
Reviewer: Kristine
from Santa Barbara, CA
This used to be one our favorites! We were a party of 4 adults, 1 infant and we were charged an auto gratuity of 20%. Unusual, but I normally tip at least 20% for decent service- which this was not. It took 30 minutes for our drink order to be taken. We were told that the kitchen was out of half the food items we ordered. Okay. So we waited for the remaining items on our order. And waited. Finally the waiter, confessed that the kitchen had simply thrown out the whole ticket since they were out of some of the items. So we asked for our check and decided to have dinner somewhere else. Of course, that is after paying a automatic 20% gratuity for the service. Too bad, their food used to be amazing, maybe it still is if it gets to your table.

Needs a litle more polish to really shine
Reviewer: Laura
from Santa Barbara, CA
I chose M&H for a celebration with a fairly large group and left a detailed voice mail the day of the party asking for a reservation and a confirmatory call as soon as they opened. I never got a call and the staff seemed completely unaware of my request when I arrived (early, fortunately). However, we were easily accommodated. One of the 3 margaritas ordered was requested without salt, but all had salt when they were delivered. Also, we had to ask for cocktail napkins, which seemed strange to me, but maybe that's not unusual now? An order for stuffed mushrooms was placed. All the other appetizers came but that. We asked about it and were told it takes longer to prepare. More appetizers were ordered and delivered but still no mushrooms. We asked again and eventually learned that the order had been delivered in error to another table (by a different server). We finally got the order and it was comped by our server, but by then, 2 of or party had had to leave. Overall, however, it was a positive experience in spite of the glitches. The food and drinks were wonderful, our server was charming and attentive and we had a wonderful time. M&H needs to pay just a little more attention to details.

Yummy!
Reviewer: Melinda
from Santa Barbara, CA
Milk and Honey is one of my favorite spots in town! Great food, awesome drinks, fun atmosphere and very cool staff. I come here pretty often so know all the girls and boy or two that work here everyone is super friendly and fun! Great place for a date! I recommend gambas chipotle and coconut mojitos! Yum yum!

tapas, cocktails, wine list +++
Reviewer: Sebastian
from Santa Barbara, CA
One of my favorite restaurants in SB, great cocktails and tapas are adequate in size and quality for the price. The servers there know what there doing and are also very relaxed and affable. Love coming in and having a great time with friends, tapas and environment really play to that. One of the best priced wie lists as well.

Good tapas, Unacceptable service
Reviewer: Brian H.
from Santa Barbara, CA
My fiancée and I were underwhelmed by our experience at Milk & Honey on Solstice. We've eaten here a lot, and the service has declined sharply over the past year or so. We dined outside at 5pm, when the restaurant opened, and waited 15 minutes for our drinks. When they finally came, the bartender came out and was completely hammered (we saw her taking shots with some people at the bar), and could barely form a coherent sentence. The food, as always, was fine - a bit pricey for what you get, but there are several tapas that are fantastic (filet con crema, date with a pig, corazon verde, to name a few).
The management has sadly chosen to hire ditzy, unprofessional, twenty-something girls, rather than invest in and train quality waitstaff.
Interestingly, the consistency at Milk & Honey's sister restaurant, Alcazar, is much better. Perhaps because Alcazar is so much smaller. Nonetheless, I hope the owners/management make changes soon.